Hinge mechanism for overhead doors



O 1951 w. G. BOWSHER 2,573,178

HINGE MECHANISM FOROVERHEAD DOORS Filed March 9, 1950 I INVENTOR. WALDO G. BOWSHER AIIORNEY.

Patented Oct. 30,1951

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIC HINGE MECHANISM FOR'OVERHEAD noons Waldo G; Bowsher, Detroit, Mich. ApplicationMarch 9, 1950, Serial No. 148,603

and held in that position by means of a counterweight. While it is recognized that there are various types of doors of this general nature, I have provided such a door in which the hardware used therewith is simplified and in which the hardware is in itself completely assembled togetherso that its application to the .door itself vmay be accomplished in an efiicient manner. An

example of a somewhat similar construction is my Patent No. 2,308,585 issued January 19, 1943. The improvement in my present invention as compared with the Patent No. 2,308,585 is that I am able to provide a more compact arrangement of the hardware used. That is, the supporting arms do not project to such a great distance away from the door frame. While this is not a serious objection in cases where the edge of the door is close to the side of the garage, it is a serious objection when double doors are used or when the side of the door is located a substantial distance from the side of the garage.

The advantage, therefore, of my invention is that I am able to provide hardware for any overhead door in the form of hinges and arms which constitute acompact unit and which do not project excessively from the door frame. It is also an object of the invention to reduce the number of parts and to thereby simplify the hardware itself and to simplify its attachment to the garage door. These and other objects and advantages will appear more fully in the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 is a rear elevational view, partly in section, of a portion of a door illustrating an embodiment of my invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view thereof, partly in section, the section being taken along lines II-II of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a detail view, in section, taken along lines IIIIII of Figure 1; and,

Figure 4 is a detail view taken along lines IVIV of Figure 1.

With reference to the drawing I show an embodiment of my invention in the form of a garage door, the frame work associated therewith, and the hardware for adapting the door to the frame work. The frame work for the door consists 2 essentially of vertical studding l and 2 and a header 3.

The door itself consists of two panels 4 and 5 each of which is supported by a frame 6 and 1, respectively. The panel 4 is smaller than the panel 5 and represents about one-third of the height of the door. To the side of the door panel 4 and against the frame 6 is attached a 2 x 2 wood member 8 to which a portion of hardwareis attached. Similarly, a 2 x 2 wood member 9 is attached to the upper portion of the frame 1 of the door panel 5.. A plate I0 is bolted to the wood member 8. This plate at its uppermost end serves as a portion of a hinge which is pivotally connected to a hinge angle plate 25.

The hinge. angle plate is attached by means of screws to the studding I and is pivotally bolted to the plate l0, thus constituting the main hinge for the door assembly. The lower end of the plate It is bent away from the panel 4 and is pivotally connected to form a hinge with a lower plate member I I attached to the wood member 9. These two plates [0 and H are now associated with the door panels 4 and 5 in such manner as to provide a main hinge at the top of the door and also a secondary hinge between the two panels '4 and 5. As thus described the door, with the exception of means for holding the door in open position, constitutes a complete hinged door structure.

To complete the door assembly, and as shown particularly in Figure 3, the 2 x 2 wood member 8 acts as a stop against the studding I when the door is in closed position. Also, the member 8 overlaps the studding I so as to form a weather tight joint.

InFigure 4 which shows the lower-most por tion of the door a stop strip I2 is fastened to the studding I and the lower part of the door which moves outwardly is caused to engage with the stop l2. The paneling 5 extends beyond the frame 1 thus acting as a weather seal and stop against the member l2.

Extending from the lower-most portion of the plate H is a bolt l3 to which is attached a cable M. This cable extends upwardly to the top of the door frame and passes around a pulley l5 attached to the door frame. Up to this point it is to be understood that the drawing herein shows only one side of the door and that it is intended that the opposite side of the door be equipped with a similar set of hardware, except that one side will be right-hand and the other side lefthand. The drawing (Fig. 1) illustrates the righthand side of the door.

by filling the box I1 After passing around the pulley I5, the cable 14 moves around a double pulley i6 and then downward where it attaches to a weight l1. It is to be understood that this weight may be in the form of a box-like enclosure open at its top end and that the desired weight may be controlled with the necessary amount be understood that the box I! is of such size and shape that all of the hardware associated with the door may be folded in such manner that it may be conveniently'acof sand. It is also to commodated in the box which thus serves as a shipping container.

Extending from the weight box I! is another cable 18 which passes around the double pulley l6 and extends to the opposite side or left hand side of the door where it engages with the door in substantially the same manner as the cable 14.

The remaining part of the hardware consistsessentially of three members identified as an arm 19, a brace and a link 2|. The brace 20 is pivotally attached at its lower end to the bolt 13 which projects from the plate II. The plate I!) does not extend along the length of the wood member 8 but is bent along its lengths so that it forms a pivot at 22. This pivot point is spaced from the edge of the door and is pivotally connected to one end of the arm IS. The opposite end of the arm l9 pivotally joins with the end of the brace 28. To complete. the assembly the link 2| pivotally joins the arm 19 and brace 20 at their point of connection, while the opposite side of the link pivotally attaches to a bracket 23' attached'to the studdin I. By this arrangement of arm, link and brace, it is possible to open'the door in such manner that the door will swing on its hinges to an elevated position, as shown in dot and dash lines in Figure 2, and held in this position by means of the counterweight IT. The hinge between the upper and lower door panels formed by-the plates [0 and II project outwardly from the door making it necessary to cut an indentation 24 into the studding l to provide clearance for this hinge.

The application of the arm, brace and link, 19, 20 and 2!, respectively, is unique in that the 1 length of these members is critical in order to obtain maximum efficiency in operational requirements in combination with minimum extension of the members from the door when the door is in closed position. For example, the total arm assembly for operating the dOOr does not extend from the door or frame a distance equal to more that the door by slight manual effort may be raised and lowered easily and smoothly. This functional operation is accomplished by a mechanism which is compact in assembly, easy to install, and requires little or no attention throughout long periods of operation.

While I have shown a preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that it may be modified Within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

A hinge structure for a door having an upper and a lower section in a door frame comprising, a hinge member including an upper plate and a lower plate having their adjacent ends pivotally connected together and the upper plate pivotally connected to the door frame adjacent an upper corner thereof, said upper and lower ,plates being secured to the edges of an upper door panel and a lower door panel respectively with said'upper plate having an off-set portion panels, a-third plate havin one end pivotally connected to said upper plate at its oif-set portion andits opposite end projecting downwardly beyond the pivotal connection between said upper and lower plates, and a pair of links, one end of each link pivotally connected to the outer free end of said third plate, one of said links having its opposite end pivotally connected to the door frame and the opposite end of the other link pivotally connected to said lower plate.

WALDO G. BOW SHER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

